Authors : Tzung-Cheng Tsai and Yeh-Liang Hsu
Abstract: The concept of "telepresence" describes the combinations of technologies that send the "presence" of a human operator to a distant place, and provide the operator a feeling of actual presence in the distant place. It is an interesting field that combines virtual reality implementations with human-system interface, communication technologies and robot control systems. This paper describes an on-going project in Yuan Ze University, Department of Mechanical Engineering, for developing a "telepresence agent." The telepresence agent is accessed and controlled through the Internet, using the user`s own biological signals. It is an extension of the distant user`s own body, which enables the user to deal with simple tasks in daily life at the remote site. Sensory feedbacks such as visual, audio or multi-functional tactile are also provided to create an immersive experience for the user. We also plan to add some human behavioral characteristics into the telepresence agent such as facial expression to increase its "humanity." The final goal is that the user and people in a distance place can feel the presence each other through the telepresence agent.
Tzung-Cheng Tsai and Yeh-Liang Hsu , 2004. Development of a Telepresence Agent . Asian Journal of Information Technology, 3: 27-34.